


Prometheus in Pompeii: A Loki Series Oneshot

by Maker_of_Rune_Vests



Category: Loki (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Based on the trailer for the Loki series, Dancing, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff and Angst, I didn't research very much, Loki (2021), Loki series, Oneshot, Pompeii, Pompeiian Reader, Time Travel, Time Variance Authority - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28039698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maker_of_Rune_Vests/pseuds/Maker_of_Rune_Vests
Summary: A oneshot in which you meet Loki in Pompeii.Inspired by the Loki series trailer released on December 10 and by the--queen-of-hell.tumblr.com's comment, in reference to the young Pompeiian woman with whom Loki is interacting: "That’s y/n."
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	Prometheus in Pompeii: A Loki Series Oneshot

“Did you dig those clothes out of a grave, barbarian?” The seven Pompeiian youths who are harassing a pale foreigner hoot with laughter. “Or maybe you crawled out of one...maybe we should bury you again, eh?” They guffaw; one of them bends to grab a handful of dirt from the verge of the road and throw it at the stranger, who rolls his eyes and keeps walking. 

A different youth shouts, “A barbarian has no right to ignore questions from Roman citizens!” He bends and stretches out his hand to grab a piece of dried horse dung. 

You sigh and decide to intervene...though for you, a handmaiden, to oppose patricians is not wise. “My lords!” you call out, walking toward them. They look at you and at your linen shift, and give your disparaging smiles. The stranger looks at you inquisitively. You keep talking. “Do you remember Baucis and Philemon? He might be a disguised god.” 

The stranger lifts an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching up. 

The youth grabs the dung and throws it at you; it misses. “Why would a handmaiden be able to identify a god?” he sneers. 

But behind him, one of the other youths clears his throat. “She’s right about that story…. He’s probably not a god, but….”

The dung-throwing youth looks back at him and groans. “You’re a weakling, Flavius.”

As Flavius explains that he is not, the stranger slips out of the group. You tilt your head toward a sidestreet and then make haste down it, past houses with white stucco walls; the stranger follows you. 

“Thank you, maiden.” He gives you a lopsided smile, which you return. Perhaps he is from one of the Germanic tribes: he is very pale, and his accent reminds you of a woman from the Alemanni whom you met once. His clothing is very odd; none of it is shaped like clothing people in Pompeii wear. 

“You should stay away from the youths of Pompeii, sir,” you reply. 

He looks sidewise at you. “Why did you intercede? And why do you deem me a god?” 

“My mother was a foreigner.” You shrug. “Maybe my father was too, I know not. But I’ve been pelted too.” You process his second question and look up at him. “I didn’t...are you one?” Your throat tightens: helping a god is appropriate for anyone, but talking to a god is not appropriate for a handmaiden. 

The stranger laughs quietly. “Of course not. I’m merely a servant who has completed an errand and is awaiting my masters’ return.” 

You let out a breath of relief and smile. He is of your own rank, quite appropriate to talk to. And quite charming to talk to, also: soft-spoken, and handsome in the way a statue is before it is painted. “I’m going to dance with some other servants, since today’s the festival of Luna. Would you like to come with me?”

He tilts his head. “I’d be delighted.”

* * *

The August sunlight beams and flickers on wine, on vivacious faces, on dancing, sandalled feet, on your white shift and on white walls, on the stranger’s dark hair and his eyes as green as an ancient copper monument. You’ve been dancing for a half hour and more, the stranger whirling you off your feet as your hair flies in the wind. 

At the end of one dance he looks up at the sun and his smile vanishes. “I must depart.” He swallows the last of his wine. “Much to my regret. I’m to meet my masters outside of this town.”

You sigh, letting go of his hand. It’s a pity he’s from another town. “Do you think you’ll come back?” 

A shadow crosses his face. “No. I’ll never come back.” He looks at you as if you were a pretty, blooming tree growing where someone was about to construct an amphitheatre, and then takes your hand and kisses it. “Farewell.” You blush and smile at him; he turns and walks away—and then he turns on his heel, determined lines between his brows. “Will you accompany me to the edge of town?”

You gladly agree, and tell him about the buildings the two of you walk past. He nods and answers briefly, scratching his palm. But at the edge of town, on a road that runs past a field full of goats, he stops walking. “Do you know where this road leads? How far away is the next town?”

You blink, discomfited. His masters must also come from another place. “Yes; it’s half a day’s walk away.”

He looks you in the eyes. “Go there. Now.” You take a step back. He shakes his head. “The wrath of the gods will strike your town tonight, tomorrow.” Wideyed, you stare at him, and then swallow a scream as a beam of light plunges down from the sky, no more than thirty footlengths away. The strange glaces at it and mutters, “They won’t exactly be delighted….” He is a god, after all—! 

You drop to your knees. “I beg your pardon, lord, if—”

The god pulls you to your feet. “Flee.” He turns away from you and strides toward the beam of light. 

“Which—” He halts. “Which god are you?”

A long pause. “Call me Prometheus.” He takes a long step into the beam of light and ascends.

You glance back at Pompeii and then, obediently, run. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Bibliography 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4JuopziR3Q
> 
> https://the--queen-of-hell.tumblr.com/post/637200073377366016/lokihiddleston-wow-wow-wait-a-minute-whats
> 
> https://lokihiddleston.tumblr.com/post/637197656512495616/wow-wow-wait-a-minute-whats-going-on-here-who and comments on this post
> 
> https://www.reddit.com/r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers/comments/kb5t96/lokis_in_pompeii/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baucis_and_Philemon
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_festivals
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruption_of_Mount_Vesuvius_in_79_AD
> 
> I listened to the album Bad Blood by Bastille while I was writing this.


End file.
